Who by Fire

Philippe Lesage's 2024 Canadian film takes place at a hunting lodge in the wilderness. Jeff, seventeen, arrives with his friend's family as the guest of the director Blake, and the party will stay several days. The tension comes from rivalry among the adults. An old score between Blake and his friend opens at the table; Jeff is both observer and target in that atmosphere, and the narrative keeps to the young people's view. The scenes are very long and the cutting sparse, with the dinner sequences close to real time. The narrative produces no events and the threat never becomes concrete; the tension comes entirely from talk. Who it's for: those who like slow thrillers and Quebec cinema. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a matter resolved; the film closes none of its questions.